
Text -- Psalms 6:5 (NET)




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collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Among the dead.

Wesley: Psa 6:5 - -- He speaks of the remembrance or celebration of God's grace in the land of the living, to the edification of God's church, and the propagation of true ...
He speaks of the remembrance or celebration of God's grace in the land of the living, to the edification of God's church, and the propagation of true religion among men; which is not done in the other life.
JFB: Psa 6:5 - -- (Compare Psa 115:17-18; Isa 38:18). There is no incredulity as to a future state. The contrast is between this scene of life, and the grave or Sheol, ...
(Compare Psa 115:17-18; Isa 38:18). There is no incredulity as to a future state. The contrast is between this scene of life, and the grave or Sheol, the unseen world of the dead.
Clarke -> Psa 6:5
Clarke: Psa 6:5 - -- In death there is no remembrance of thee - Man is to glorify thee on earth. The end for which he was born cannot be accomplished in the grave; heal ...
In death there is no remembrance of thee - Man is to glorify thee on earth. The end for which he was born cannot be accomplished in the grave; heal my body, and heal my soul, that I may be rendered capable of loving and serving thee here below. A dead body in the grave can do no good to men, nor bring any glory to thy name!
Calvin -> Psa 6:5
Calvin: Psa 6:5 - -- 5.For in death there is no remembrance of thee After God has bestowed all things freely upon us, he requires nothing in return but a grateful remembr...
5.For in death there is no remembrance of thee After God has bestowed all things freely upon us, he requires nothing in return but a grateful remembrance of his benefits. To this gratitude reference is made when David says, that there will be no remembrance of God in death, nor any celebration of his praise in the grave His meaning is, that if, by the grace of God, he shall be delivered from death, he will be grateful for it, and keep it in remembrance. And he laments, that if he should be removed out of the world, he would be deprived of the power and opportunity of manifesting his gratitude, since in that case he would no longer mingle in the society of men, there to commend or celebrate the name of God. From this passage some conclude, that the dead have no feeling, and that it is wholly extinct in them; but this is a rash and unwarranted inference, for nothing is here treated of but the mutual celebration of the grace of God, in which men engage while they continue in the land of the living. We know that we are placed on the earth to praise God with one mind and one mouth, and that this is the end of our life. Death, it is true, puts an end to such praises; but it does not follow from this, that the souls of the faithful, when divested of their bodies, are deprived of understanding, or touched with no affection towards God. It is also to be considered, that, on the present occasion, David dreaded the judgment of God if death should befall him, and this made him dumb as to singing the praises of God. It is only the goodness of God sensibly experienced by us which opens our mouth to celebrate his praise; and whenever, therefore, joy and gladness are taken away, praises also must cease. It is not then wonderful if the wrath of God, which overwhelms us with the fear of eternal destruction, is said to extinguish in us the praises of God.
From this passage, we are furnished with the solution of another question, why David so greatly dreaded death, as if there had been nothing to hope for beyond this world. Learned men reckon up three causes why the fathers under the law were so much kept in bondage by the fear of death. The first is, because the grace of God, not being then made manifest by the coming of Christ, the promises, which were obscure, gave them only a slight acquaintance with the life to come. The second is, because the present life, in which God deals with us as a Father, is of itself desirable. And the third, because they were afraid lest, after their decease, some change to the worse might take place in religion. But to me these reasons do not appear to be sufficiently solid. David’s mind was not always occupied by the fear he now felt; and when he came to die, being full of days and weary of this life, he calmly yielded up his soul into the bosom of God. The second reason is equally applicable to us at the present day, as it was to the ancient fathers, inasmuch as God’s fatherly love shines forth towards us also even in this life, and with much more illustrious proofs than under the former dispensation. But, as I have just observed, I consider this complaint of David as including something different, namely, that feeling the hand of God to be against him, and knowing his hatred of sin, 87 he is overwhelmed with fear and involved in the deepest distress. The same may also be said of Hezekiah, inasmuch as he did not simply pray for deliverance from death, but from the wrath of God, which he felt to be very awful, (Isa 38:3.)
TSK -> Psa 6:5
TSK: Psa 6:5 - -- For : Psa 30:9, Psa 88:10-12, Psa 115:17, Psa 118:17; Isa 38:18, Isa 38:19
in the : Ecc 9:10; Joh 9:4
For : Psa 30:9, Psa 88:10-12, Psa 115:17, Psa 118:17; Isa 38:18, Isa 38:19

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes -> Psa 6:5
Barnes: Psa 6:5 - -- For in death - In the state of the dead; in the grave. There is no remembrance of thee - They who are dead do not remember thee or think ...
For in death - In the state of the dead; in the grave.
There is no remembrance of thee - They who are dead do not remember thee or think of thee. The "ground"of this appeal is, that it was regarded by the psalmist as a "desirable"thing to remember God and to praise him, and that this could not be done by one who was dead. He prayed, therefore, that God would spare his life, and restore him to health, that he might praise him in the land of the living. A sentiment similar to this occurs in Psa 30:9, "What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?"So also Psa 88:11, "Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?"So also in Isa 38:18, in the language of Hezekiah, "The grave cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth."See the notes at that passage. A similar sentiment also is found in Job 10:21-22. See the notes at that passage. In regard to the meaning of this it may be remarked
(a) that it is to be admitted that there was among the ancient saints much less light on the subject of the future state than there is with us, and that they often, in giving utterance to their feelings, seemed to speak as if all were dark beyond the grave.
(b) But, though they thus spoke in their sorrow and in their despondency, they also did, on other occasions, express their belief in a future state, and their expectation of happiness in a coming world (compare, for example, Psa 16:10-11; Psa 17:15).
© Does not their language in times of despondency and sickness express the feelings which "we"often have now, even with all the light which we possess, and all the hopes which we cherish? Are there not times in the lives of the pious, even though they have a strong prevailing hope of heaven, when the thoughts are fixed on the grave as a dark, gloomy, repulsive prison, and "so"fixed on it as to lose sight of the world beyond? And in such moments does not "life"seem as precious to us, and as desirable, as it did to David, to Hezekiah, or to Job?
In the grave - Hebrew,
Who shall give thee thanks? - Who shall "praise"thee? The idea is that "none"would then praise God. It was the land of "silence."See Isa 38:18-19. This language implies that David "desired"to praise God, but that he could not hope to do it in the grave.
Poole -> Psa 6:5
Poole: Psa 6:5 - -- In death amongst the dead; or in the grave, as it follows.
There is no remembrance of thee to wit, by me David, consisting both of soul and body; a...
In death amongst the dead; or in the grave, as it follows.
There is no remembrance of thee to wit, by me David, consisting both of soul and body; and no such remembrance, to wit, in way of thankfulness and praise, as the next clause of the verse limits and explains it; which he might fear would be true, not only because he should not have occasion to praise God for this deliverance, but also because he was in grievous agonies of conscience, and under terrors of God’ s wrath, and his eternal damnation; which being oft incident to the saints of God under the New Testament, it is not strange if it were so also under the Old Testament. Besides he speaks of the remembrance or celebration of God’ s name and grace in the land of the living, to the enlargement and edification of God’ s church, and the propagation of true religion among men; which is not done in the other life, and was justly prized at so high a rate by David and other holy men, to whom therefore it must needs be a great grief to be for ever deprived of such opportunities. For otherwise David very well knew, and firmly believed, that souls departed were not extinct, but did go to God, Ecc 12:7 , and there remember, and adore, and enjoy God, though quite in another way than that of which he here speaks.
Haydock -> Psa 6:5
Haydock: Psa 6:5 - -- Turn. God never abandons us first, Jeremias ii. 27. (Berthier) ---
We drive him away by sin. (St. Athanasius) ---
Sake. I cannot take one step...
Turn. God never abandons us first, Jeremias ii. 27. (Berthier) ---
We drive him away by sin. (St. Athanasius) ---
Sake. I cannot take one step without thee. (Calmet) ---
Treat me not as my sins deserve; but mercifully restore me to favour. (Worthington)
Gill -> Psa 6:5
Gill: Psa 6:5 - -- For in death there is no remembrance of thee,.... Of the goodness, truth, power, and faithfulness of God; no notice can be taken nor mention, made ei...
For in death there is no remembrance of thee,.... Of the goodness, truth, power, and faithfulness of God; no notice can be taken nor mention, made either of the perfections or works of God, whether of nature or of grace, by a dead man to others; he is wholly useless to men on earth with respect to these things;
in the grave who shall give thee thanks? for mercies temporal or spiritual; the dead cannot praise the Lord among men, only the living; see Psa 30:9; wherefore the psalmist desires that he might live and praise the Lord: this argument is taken from the glory of God, which end cannot be answered among men by death, as by life. It does not follow from hence that the soul either dies or sleeps with the body, and is inactive until the resurrection morn, neither of which are true; or that the souls of departed saints are unemployed in heaven; they are always before the throne, and serve the Lord day and night; they remember, with the utmost gratitude and thankfulness, all the goodness and grace of God unto them, and praise him for all his wondrous works: but the sense is, that when a saint is dead, he can no more serve and glorify God on earth among men.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: Psa 6:5 In Sheol who gives you thanks? According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from...
Geneva Bible -> Psa 6:5
Geneva Bible: Psa 6:5 For in ( d ) death [there is] no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
( d ) He laments that opportunity should be taken from...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Psa 6:1-10
MHCC -> Psa 6:1-7
MHCC: Psa 6:1-7 - --These verses speak the language of a heart truly humbled, of a broken and contrite spirit under great afflictions, sent to awaken conscience and morti...
Matthew Henry -> Psa 6:1-7
Matthew Henry: Psa 6:1-7 - -- These verses speak the language of a heart truly humbled under humbling providences, of a broken and contrite spirit under great afflictions, sent o...
Keil-Delitzsch -> Psa 6:4-7
Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 6:4-7 - --
(Heb.: 6:5-8) God has turned away from him, hence the prayer שׁוּבה , viz., אלי . The tone of שׁוּבה is on the ult ., because it is ...
Constable -> Psa 6:1-10; Psa 6:5-6
Constable: Psa 6:1-10 - --Psalm 6
This is one of the penitential psalms in which David repented for some sin he had committed and ...
